Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway


"Soldier's Home" is the ironic story about the struggles that a war veteran encounters
after the war. The protangist deals with avoidance of entering back into society and hate. Krebs is an example to the war veteran who experienced hardships of combat past imagination from fighting in major battles in World War I, and he comes home to find a war within himself.

During his time and experience, he was in positions of responsibilities, where his fellow Marine's lives depended upon his decisions. Coming from a small town in the mid-west in the early 1900's, it should be safe to say that he was raised with having responsibilities. Before the war, he was enrolled in a denominational college, where there was probably some strict guidelines to adhere to. There was an adhertiance or tradition to be uniformed, a picture show him and his "fraternity brothers...wearing exactly the same" (115) clothing. This ability to be responsible and following rules is probably whey he "...enlisted in the Marines...(115). Krebs obviously had been an active type person. Probably in work, studies and activities. This can specially been seen when his mother confronted him, "you have lost your ambition" (119). Even though not much is mentioned at the beginning of the story about of this, responsibility seemed not to be a struggle with him in the past, but now it is a major fight with him. This is the ironic
twist of a man raised to be responsible, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and endured so many hardships of war and later allows irresponsibility to start fighting him.

We are not given much information about his combat situation, "Hemingway avoids any explicit description of what happened to Krebs during the war" (Imamura 3). Maybe this is to keep the reader asking what happened to him during the war, and the "...reader discern what is important about Krebs and why he is so distant from others" ( ), so as to keep up the suspense. It does however mention that he fought in five major battles that American forces had participated in. (Bellau Woods (115) was a battle where only Marine's were fighting the Germans, and the Marine's lost half their men to casualties (Allan Millett, "Semper Fidelis: The History Of The United States Marine Corps"). Nor is there any mention of what influences and emotional behavior changes he might have experienced in combat. After fighting in five conflicts, he had to have changed in his beliefs. Also, there is nothing said about him being shot or wounded, so it is presumed that he not only survived these five battles, but he survived without any physical wounds. This could have lead him to some feelings of guilt after participating in so many battles and surviving them physically. This happens in many surviving combat veterans. His first year of enlistment, he spent the entire time fighting. After that his unit was kept in Germany for another year. He was amongst the very people he had fought and killed. Many of them probably were friendly to him. Him and another corporal friend had a picture taken with some German girls near the Rhine River. This would give the reader an impression that he is traveling and mingling among them. Did this cause some confusion when he saw the very same people had fought were human? At home, he later became disillusioned about the war, and had, "A distaste for everything that had happened to him in the war" (116). It is possible that his time while stationed in Germany, is when he started to have doubts about the war and why he had joined to fight it. Now when his unit did return to the United States a year after the war, the welcome home parades were over with. So he missed the parade in his home town for the greeting of heroes..." (115). This had to increase any pain he had, to come home and not be welcomed back by his fellow towns people. Their reaction was cold towards him in this, "People seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late" (115). The townspeople had thought it was not worthwhile to give him a welcoming home celebration simply because he came home a year later. Even though he had served his country well by participated in many battles. This no doubt made him feel rejected and, "...thus failed to provide him with a fulfilling or right feeling of come back" (Hansen 2). This possibly this is the beginning part of his new ironic battle within himself of avoidance.

His avoidance was not at a full point when he came home. This is shown by that he would play pool at the "pool room" (116). It was here that the extra push of rejection came in. He wanted to talk about the war, "...he felt a need to talk about it" (116). Everyone did not want to talk about, "...but no one wanted hear about it" (116). So this lead Krebs to create lies of what had he did in his conversations so he could get some attention, so...Krebs was compelled to lie about his war experiences (Lamb 2). The lying later made him feel guilty; his lies even made him feel "nausea" (116). He is not seen at the poolroom later on in the story, seems that he stops going there. He later met with another soldier from the same war, and they talked about their experiences and feelings. Here he realizes, "...with his fellow soldier" (116) of what they had felt and went through, "...sickeningly, frighten all the time. In this way he lost everything". Here Krebs is confronted with all that had happened to him in the war and accepts a defeat the of his struggles by the war within himself.

Now that he accepted this dilemma in his life, his struggle really seems to grow because of alienation he does less socializing. He only visits the library to "get a book" or "walk around the town" (116). The library is place of quietness where there will be no "complications". He starts to see the biggest complication is girls, "They are too complicated." (117). In his mind he sees girls as problem some, he compares them to as politicians in an election race, "...have to get into the intrigue and the politics". Any talk, dating, or courting of girls was seen as complicated. The time and effort to talk to them and impress them was too troublesome, "...he did not want to have to work to get her". To him, the German girls were easier because there were not many complications during socializing since the language barrier was limited in what was said. Krebs felt much more comfortable being with them, "...and German girls. There was not all this talking. You couldn't talk much and you did not need to talk" (Texas University Of "A Read Of
'Soldier's Home' " pg 2). There was picture of Krebs and a fellow corporal with two German girls; Imamura says her critique, "...the German girls are probably prostitutes..." ( ) therefore emphasizing that, "...relationships between them are uncomplicated" (Imamura pg 2). "He liked the girls"... in his home town, "...he liked to look at them..."(117), they were prettier than the girls he knew back in Europe, they were "...better than French...German girls". He wished to have a girl, but did not want any complications that came with it, "He would like to have of them. But it was not worth it" (117). Krebs had a bad relationship before, "He knew he could never get through it all again" (117). Krebs not only avoided complications from girls, "He did not want any consequences" (117) from any relations with a female. For him, this could be big a problem. The ultimate complication is what would come from dating and courting a girl, and that would be marriage, "...marriage is the very commitment he must avoided" (Imamura 1). His avoidance of girls is one the battles going on inside of him; because of this he avoids them entirely. He fears marriage that would be his biggest complication. So he battles with himself to avoid them.

Another battle he has is with his mother. He tolerates her because she is his mother. He does not physical avoid her. In the beginning he wanted to talk to her and share his experiences about the war to her, but she would not give time to listen to him, "...she asked him to tell her about the war, but her attention always wandered..." away from their conversations (116). One of the critique writers responds to her character in a negative aspect, (Lamb 7). But she seems to be the family leader, because the father doesn't take role, "His father was noncommittal" ( ). The father is never seen, only mentioned by the narrator or by a family member. She may have been strong willed and made decision to give her bad impression, but this would be due to the father not taking his rightful role. Everything really is fine between Krebs and his mother until she became worried and encouraged him to be more active and asked him, "Have you decided what your are going to do yet?” and she said, "There can be no idle hands..."(119). When Krebs told his mother that he didn't love her anymore, this only brought up a confrontation, which did not want. Because of this, he now makes a decision to move from his home, "...to Kansas City..." (120), in which what he is really doing is running away from the complications not only in his hometown, but also with his family. Here Krebs loses another struggle in a battle of complications.

In Ernest Hemingway's story, "Soldier's Home", Harold Krebs is a combat Marine veteran who struggles with a different type of war. Even though he came from World War I as corporal, leader, and fought in five major battles, he constantly loses the struggles within himself. Hemingway was ahead of his time in exposing this problem about combat veterans. (Even though it has been a know fact as long man has been fighting wars). The American public did not want to recognize it until after the Vietnam War, because they forced to by the high volume of media publicity. Ernest Hemingway’s, "Soldier's Home", Harold Krebs is a former Marine who comes home and begins a war within himself when it is ironic that he finished fighting a major war.



© Kevin Lee



NOTES:


1. Lamb, Robert Paul "The Love Song Of Harlod Krebs: From, Argument, And Meaning In Hemingway's 'Soldier's Home' ". Hemingway Review Spring 1995

2. Imamuro, Tateo " 'Soldier's Home': Another Story Of A Broken Heart".
Hemingway Review October 1, 1996

3. Hansen, Line Amand "Short Story Analysis: 'Soldier's Home' "
www.bridgewater.edu/~sgallowa/...hemingway/hem-sh.htm

4. Texas University "A Read Of 'Soldier's Home' " www2.cwrl.utexas.edu/VANDER/316F96/CHRIS/BODY2.HTM

5. Smelstor, Marjorie " 'Soldier's Home', Psychological Realism"
Masterplots II (Short Stories Series)